The World's Coolest Underwater Hotels

From Zanzibar to Sweden, beautiful underwater properties with one-of-a-kind views have been popping up around the globe, featuring some of the most unique rooms that travelers can book.

Meanwhile, closer to home, many celebrated US aquariums offer sleepovers that aren't just for kids anymore. Check out our picks for places that allow you to sleep under the sea (or at least pretend that's where you are).

1. The Manta Resort in Tanzania has Africa's first underwater hotel room.

Jesper Anhede
Where: Pemba Island, Tanzania

Pemba, a verdant Indian Ocean island in the Zanzibar archipelago, has long been enticing divers with its pristine coral reefs and clear waters.

Now the chic Manta Resort has taken the aquatic worship one step further, last month opening Africa's first underwater hotel room. Submerged 13 feet underwater, the room has eight large, lit windows through which guests can gawk at a Technicolor parade of fish and cephalopods. A ladder leads to a sundeck and lounge.

Insider tip: Guests can have meals sent out to them by boat, such as grilled snapper with rosemary bread, followed by chocolate mousse and spiced pineapple.

2. Jules' Undersea Lodge is an underwater inn that was converted from a former marine lab in Florida.

Courtesy of Jules Undersea Lodge
Where: Key Largo, FL

The granddaddy of underwater hotels, Jules' Undersea Lodge, a former marine lab that opened as an inn in 1986, has an unusually high bar to entry.

All guests desirous of spending the night need to know how to scuba dive. There's no other way to enter this two-bedroom retro hideout, 30 feet below the surface in a mangrove-laden lagoon. The customary underwater dinner is pizza from Papa John's, but guests can upgrade to local lobster or filet mignon.

Insider tip: Don't want to commit to a whole night among the angelfish and barracudas? Jules' also offers a three-hour lunchtime "mini-adventure" for $150 per person, pizza included.

3. The Hydropolis Underwater Hotel & Resort in Dubai will be as large as Hyde Park.

foco design
Where: Dubai, UAE

Where would they build the most ambitious luxury hotel under the waves? Dubai, of course.

The Emirate that brought you a man-made island in the shape of a palm tree now hopes to unveil the Hydropolis Underwater Hotel, in a Hyde Park-sized complex 66 feet under the sea.

Guests staying at one of the 220 suites will be greeted at the "land post" on Jumeriah beach and taken by submerged subway to the main part of the hotel. The developers say that they hope to welcome 3,500 guests a day, once they overcome "financial constrictions."

Insider tip: This hotel also plans to offer a plastic surgery clinic, and recovering patients can stay out of sight under the sea.

5. Guests of the future Poseidon Undersea Resort will supposedly get a personal submarine to crusie around in during their stay.

The five-star underwater resort in Fiji was scheduled to launch in 2008, but a combination of the global recession and the difficulty of sub-aqua building have led to it still being incomplete five years later. Ambitious projections show an underwater library, golf course, and tennis court, while the website promises future guests the use of a personal submarine.

Insider tip: If you really want to jump the queue, contact Poseidon about booking a wedding in the undersea chapel. Just don't set a date yet.